云南咖啡果皮“废料”摘得全球美妆原料大奖Yunnan coffee peel 'waste' wins global beauty ingredient award

云南网讯（记者 段毅）曾经被视作废弃物的云南咖啡果皮，近日站上国际美妆原料领域领奖台。2026年5月，在美国纽约举办的NYSCC Suppliers' Day（纽约化妆品化学家协会供应商日，是北美化妆品科学领域的首要年度盛会）展会上，由云南西草资源开发有限公司从咖啡果皮中提取研发的植物细胞液，荣获“原料创新先锋奖”。该奖项每年全球仅评选12项创新成果，是国际美妆原料领域颇具影响力的专业奖项之一。

这一荣誉的背后，源于研发团队在云南普洱咖啡产区开展的一次溯源调研。彼时正值咖啡采收季结束，大量剥离下来的咖啡果皮被堆放在庄园角落，逐渐发酵并散发出酸味。对种植户而言，这些果皮是需要额外付费清运的副产物。

然而，长期从事植物研究的研发人员却有了灵感：“大家都在研究咖啡豆，但几乎没人研究咖啡果皮。”颜色鲜艳、发酵速度快，往往意味着其中可能蕴藏着丰富的天然活性物质。检测结果证实了团队的判断：咖啡果皮中富含多酚、咖啡因等活性成分，具有良好的抗氧化潜力。由此，团队萌生了将其开发为高价值美妆原料的想法。

发现价值只是第一步。如何在不破坏活性成分的前提下，高效提取出咖啡果皮中的有效物质，成为真正的挑战。据介绍，咖啡果皮中的多酚、咖啡因等成分对温度十分敏感。高温提取虽效率高，却容易造成活性损失；常温提取能保留活性，但效率难以满足需求。行业通常借助有机溶剂提高效率，却又面临残留带来的安全性顾虑。

经过持续探索，云南西草资源开发有限公司创新开发出小分子水提取技术。该技术以处理后的天然植物水替代传统有机溶剂，在温和条件下完成提取，既减少了高温对活性成分的破坏，又提升了提取效率，使有效成分得以更完整、更安全地保留。这一关键突破，让曾被丢弃的咖啡果皮真正具备了走向高端化妆品原料市场的可能。

此次获奖不仅标志着云南企业在国际美妆原料领域取得重要突破，也展现了云南咖啡产业从传统农业向高附加值产业链延伸的实践成果。过去需花钱处理的咖啡果皮，如今成为能够走向国际市场的高价值美妆原料，既减少了农业废弃物对环境的压力，也为咖农增收和产业增值开辟了新路径，为云南咖啡产业高质量发展提供了新的方向。

Yunnan Net News (Reporter Duan Yi) Yunnan coffee peels, which were once considered waste, recently stood on the international beauty ingredient field podium. In May 2026, at the NYSCC Suppliers' Day exhibition held in New York, USA, the plant cell fluid extracted and developed by Yunnan Xicao Resources Development Co., Ltd. from coffee peels was awarded the "Pioneer Award for Raw Material Innovation". This award selects only 12 innovative achievements globally each year and is one of the influential professional awards in the field of international beauty ingredients.

Behind this honor is a traceability survey conducted by the R&D team in the Pu'er coffee production area of Yunnan. At that time, it was the end of the coffee harvest season, and a large amount of peeled coffee peels were piled up in the corners of the estate, gradually fermenting and emitting a sour taste. For growers, these fruit peels are by-products that require additional payment for transportation.

However, researchers who have been engaged in plant research for a long time have come up with an inspiration: "Everyone is studying coffee beans, but almost no one is studying coffee peels." Bright colors and fast fermentation often indicate that they may contain rich natural active substances. The test results confirmed the team's judgment: coffee peels are rich in active ingredients such as polyphenols and caffeine, which have good antioxidant potential. As a result, the team came up with the idea of developing it into a high-value beauty ingredient.

Discovering value is just the first step. How to efficiently extract effective substances from coffee peels without damaging the active ingredients has become a real challenge. It is reported that polyphenols, caffeine, and other components in coffee peels are highly sensitive to temperature. Although high temperature extraction is efficient, it can easily cause activity loss; Room temperature extraction can retain activity, but the efficiency is difficult to meet the requirements. The industry usually relies on organic solvents to improve efficiency, but also faces safety concerns caused by residues.

After continuous exploration, Yunnan Xicao Resources Development Co., Ltd. has innovatively developed small molecule water extraction technology. This technology replaces traditional organic solvents with processed natural plant water and completes extraction under mild conditions, reducing the damage of high temperature to active ingredients and improving extraction efficiency, allowing effective ingredients to be preserved more completely and safely. This key breakthrough has truly given the discarded coffee peels the possibility to enter the high-end cosmetics raw material market.

This award not only marks an important breakthrough for Yunnan enterprises in the field of international beauty ingredients, but also demonstrates the practical achievements of Yunnan's coffee industry in extending from traditional agriculture to a high value-added industry chain. The coffee peels, which used to require money to process, have now become high-value cosmetic materials that can enter the international market. This not only reduces the pressure of agricultural waste on the environment, but also opens up new paths for coffee farmers to increase income and industrial value, providing a new direction for the high-quality development of Yunnan's coffee industry.